Ahead of the 2027 General  Elections,the Independent Judicial Accountability Panel (IJAP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take a more proactive role in resolving internal disputes within political parties.

IJAP comprising of retired Judges, Academia, law reformers, media   and civil society  practitioners during its 5th session held under the CiTi-ACT Project of ActionAid Nigeria. in Abuja called for wide-ranging electoral and judicial reforms to strengthen accountability and improve the delivery of election justice ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Chairman of IJAP Rtd Justice Adekunle  Owoade while presenting recommendations by the panel during a press briefing said that the first level of resolution for internal disputes of political parties should be by INEC itself as the regulatory body

Analysing the recent Supreme Court decision in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) v. Alhaji Sule Lamido & 4 Ors., SC/CV/164/2026, at its fifth session , IJAP said the majority decision of the Supreme Court reaffirmed the position established in Onuoha v. Okafor (1993) 14 NSCC 494 that courts should generally not intervene in the internal affairs of political parties.

It, however, noted that such matters become justiciable where there is a breach of a political party’s constitution, saying provisions of Sections 83(5) and 83(6) of the Electoral Act 2026 appeared to have created some uncertainty over the extent to which courts could intervene in internal party matters.

It said such an approach would be consistent with Section 228(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and urged INEC to strengthen the exercise of its constitutional regulatory responsibilities over political parties.

The panel alao recommended that election litigation involving House of Representatives, Senate and governorship elections should be limited to two levels, terminating at the Court of Appeal with a five-member panel, proposing that in exceptional circumstances, parties should be allowed to appeal to the Supreme Court with the leave of the Court of Appeal.

IJAP also called for an amendment to Section 156(1)(a) of the Constitution to restrict political appointees and Directorate-level staff who leave INEC from engaging in partisan politics for at least five years.

The panel further advocated constitutional recognition of independent candidacy, saying the measure could help reduce godfatherism and promote wider participation in the electoral process.

It also recommended constitutional amendments to allow citizens to institute public interest litigation over breaches of the Electoral Act and the Constitution in the conduct of elections.

On the judiciary, IJAP reiterated its call for the unbundling of the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria to reduce the concentration of power and promote transparency.

It proposed the appointment of deputies for heads of courts, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

The panel also urged the National Assembly to comply with constitutional requirements on voting on constitutional issues by adopting an ascertainable recording of votes instead of voice votes.

It maintained its position that INEC should not be made a statutory respondent in election petitions.

On its jurimetrics initiative, IJAP said it had commissioned public interest journalism studies on judicial officers involved in election adjudication.

It said the first report examined judges who handled the 2023 presidential election petitions, while the second ongoing study focuses on judges recently recommended for appointment to the Court of Appeal.

The initiative, according to the panel, is aimed at examining the backgrounds and previous judgments of judicial officers as part of efforts to understand their behavioural patterns in adjudication.

IJAP also disclosed that it had engaged the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Nigerian Law Reform Commission on its proposed judicial and electoral reforms.

It said both institutions expressed willingness to collaborate on reforms that align with their respective priorities.

Ahead of the 2027 elections, the panel said it would continue to work with citizens to monitor election outcomes and judicial responses to election-related litigation.

It also pledged to encourage citizens to take greater interest in judicial accountability and urged stakeholders to commit to peaceful and credible elections.